On Monday night (the beginning of my day-off) I went to the cinema - the only film which looked mildly interesting was Goya's Ghosts, which I hadn't heard of before. Set in 1790s/1800s Spain, it is a lavish costume drama with some impressive set-pieces but weak characterisation. Weakest of all is the perpetuation of the myth of the Inquisition:
- torture is used indiscriminately and with the slighest excuse (in actual fact there was a strict code regarding its use and it was heavily restricted, especially by the late eighteenth century)
- torture (or being 'put to the question') is presented as part of the Church's teaching: if the accused is innocent God will give surely him the strength to stick to the truth; therefore a person who confesses is infallibly guilty. This is, of course, complete rubbish
- the dungeons are dire - in actual fact Inquisition prisons compared favourably to secular ones
- all the clergy and religious in the film are corrupt and tyrannical
As well as basing its depiction of the Inquisition on post-enlightenment anti-Catholic literature, the film also attacks the tyranny of rationalism and the French Revolutionary forces, which at least restores some balance!
Miles Jesu publish a booklet about the myth of the Spanish Inquisition. We Catholics need to be educated as to what really happened..thankyou for this post.
ReplyDeleteFather, what have you read to give you the correct information bout the Spanish Inquisition?
ReplyDeleteSharon, Henry Kamen's books are a good starting piont - he's a highly respected historian and his arguments can't be ignored. You might also care to read my article on the subject: http://www.faith.org.uk/Publications/Magazines/Jan07/Jan07NoOneExpectsTheSpanishInquisition.html
ReplyDeleteThanks for your query.